Officials warn that strong aftershocks may occur this week.
At least 62 people have died in the earthquake that shook the central parts of Japan on New Year’s Day, the official responsible for the disaster operations of the Ishikawa Prefectural Regional Government tells the news agency AFP.
In addition, more than 300 people are said to have been injured. According to the Japanese public broadcaster NHK, rescue efforts are still continuing in the area of Ishikawa Prefecture. According to the public broadcasting company, many people are feared to be trapped under the collapsed buildings.
According to the Japanese authorities, the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6. According to NHK, the authorities warn that equally strong aftershocks may occur this week.
Wajima officials say 25 buildings have collapsed in the city. The fires caused by the earthquake, on the other hand, destroyed around 200 buildings in the city. Thousands of people have taken shelter in evacuation centers.
Water supply has been cut off in some areas and residents have been queuing to get drinking water. According to NHK, tens of thousands of people are without electricity.
The mayor of the coastal city of Suzu on the Noto Peninsula Masuhiro Izumiya according to the majority of the buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
– About 90 percent of the houses (in the city) have been completely or almost completely destroyed… the situation is truly catastrophic, he said according to television company TBS.
Hundreds of earthquakes every year
The ongoing rescue work is hampered by weather conditions. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a heavy rain warning for the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. The Finnish Meteorological Institute also warned the residents of the area about landslides.
Japan experiences hundreds of earthquakes every year, the vast majority of which do not cause damage.
The number of earthquakes in the Noto Peninsula has been steadily increasing since 2018, a Japanese government report said last year.
In March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of the northeastern part of the country caused a tsunami, as a result of which about 18,500 people died or went missing. At that time, the tsunami waves caused by the earthquake caused the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, which was the most serious nuclear accident since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
STT-AFP